by Jason Luthor
Anyway, it’s interesting to read through her stuff. I mean, this is literally the first time I’ve ever had a strong clue about how any of this got started. Maybe it’s strange or whatever, but I think I actually care more about the stuff she wrote about her family. Like I said, humans are funny, and I guess time doesn’t really change us much. We still want the same things, right? Not that I think I need a little brother or anything, but I mean, it could’ve been nice to have someone around while I was growing up. At the very least, it would have been cool to have had mom and dad acting normal for my sixteenth birthday. I missed out on stuff like that. Stuff other people got. No parents. Nobody telling me they loved me. No sweet sixteen. I think I turned out as okay as possible though. I mean, I’m still alive, right? That’s got to count for something.
Still, it makes me wonder if surviving’s enough. It’s a little weird. If you’d have asked me six months ago, the only person I would have told you I cared about is Allison. Poor girl. She may be my best friend, but she never wanted anything to do with exploring the Deep Creep. Which, I get that. I mean, I’m the one fighting just to get my hands on some food right now. I guess I drew the short end of the straw on this one. Anyway, until I went on the Scavenging, I never really had anyone else I was really close with. Now, with Mike, Tommy, and Dodger, it’s like . . . It sucks. This whole situation is cosmically unfair. I finally said, okay, screw it. Let’s be friends, or whatever. Let me finally start actually trying to get past my deeply rooted insecurities. I don’t know, I just . . . I guess I started to feel like I really had something remotely close to a family, and now I’m not sure if seeing them again is in the realm of possibility. At least, not if I want them to be safe. Anyway, I should probably sleep. No use getting myself worked up while I’m all alone in the Deep. I don’t think I could survive a full attack right now if the Creep decided to get antsy.
Anna’s Diary
6th of May
Dear Diary,
Johnny’s birthday is only a few weeks after my own, and fortunately for him, I can keep secrets better than he can. I’ve been bustling about, trying to come up with all the decorations while mummy settles on a cake to bake for him. Daddy’s almost as bad as Johnny, so I’ve had to remind him almost daily to keep a lid on his impulses. I’ve already warned him that if Johnny finds out about the party, there’s only going to be one source of the leak. I can only hope daddy doesn’t ruin it all. We’ve already spent so much on the decorations, and I’ll be staying home that day to help fix up the apartment while Johnny’s out at school.
It’s strange to be planning this kind of celebration even with everything going on in the world. There was an explosion in the city not too long ago, at one of the Apeiron laboratories. Daddy says it’s nothing to worry about, but there have been more agents from Security wandering about than I can ever remember. We haven’t lived here long, but I don’t ever remember seeing so many guards with guns all over the place. They don’t bother us, but getting in and out of the building has become something of a chore. Even though the Tower says it has everything we need, I don’t like being cooped up in a building all the time. I miss the feeling of the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.
Even when I do manage to get outside though, things just aren’t the same. The winds are colder, and the skies are darker. The weather has been changing for decades, but the black skies are something new. Ever since the Apeiron research campus blew up a few months ago, the toxins that have filled the air seem to have become stuck in something like a permanent vortex above the city. They never blow out to sea, and it leaves us in an endless twilight. When it rains, they warn us to stay indoors because of the chemicals that fall back to the ground. My worst fear, what we’ve been hearing rumors of, is that several bombings exactly like this have made the skies dark for other cities across the country. The news reports on it from time to time, but Apeiron doesn’t seem to want to speak about it much. The company doesn’t like to admit when it’s on the defensive. I don’t blame them. It’s not as if I’m a Carthage supporter.
At any rate, with all that’s happening, I worry about what’s coming next. I’d rather just celebrate Johnny’s birthday, but it’d be a lie if I said I wasn’t concerned. Carthage claims they have our best interests at heart, but I’ve heard of so many people dying because of them. I just can’t believe anything they say. It’s not enough that we’ve had to build walls to keep the oceans from flooding the city. Now Carthage has gone and made it impossible to enjoy a sunny day. Even daddy, who spent his childhood under the grey skies of the Northern Sea, feels this is entirely too much. I do sometimes wonder if he regrets the company transferring him here when he was a younger man.
Speaking of, I suppose it makes me happy that Johnny’s joined the company. He’s always been a bigger fan than I’ve been. I understand who pays our bills, but the sort of technology Apeiron uses, what they do to achieve it, all seems just a bit frightening. I can barely wrap my mind around the fact we routinely open portals to another dimension just to store things like food and water. Can you imagine that? Do you think our cavemen ancestors sat around thinking that, one day, they’d be able to do such a thing? Not to sound cross. I understand that the technology’s been tested for a few decades now, and that it's improved our way of living. Better Pocket Space than coal, don’t you think so? Without it, we’d have even blacker skies and higher ocean levels. Pocket Space saved us from even worse environmental catastrophes.
Still, the technology is intimidating, and I worry with Johnny taking his senior year internship with the company. They’re testing some new power source apparently. Or, I don’t know. Johnny’s told me he can’t say anything about it. Top secret, I suppose. All I know is that it has something to do with the energy fields that are supposed to connect people. Something about an energy we all give off, but don’t ask me how it supposedly works. It sounds like nonsense to me, to be honest, like people talking about auras or a sixth sense. Johnny seems incredibly excited when he comes home from his after-school internship though. Of course he does. He’ll have a job waiting for him once his schooling is done.
Well, I suppose the next time I make an entry will be after Johnny’s birthday. I can’t wait to see how it goes! As much as we go at each other from time to time, he’s such an adorable brat. I can’t imagine my life without him, most especially the headaches he gives me. It’s those small things about your family you always remember. They might bother you from time to time, but you would miss them if they weren’t there.
Tommy’s Recording 18
The power went out right after Jackie jumped, and I don’t know if the video room had a lockdown procedure or something, but the minute the power died, the locks on the room snapped shut. I’m guessing it was designed to protect people on the inside in case anything happened outside, but it made it a real pain just getting out of the door. Still, I couldn’t let it get me down. The second I got it through my head that something had happened to Jackie, I just knew, you know? I knew I had to pull it together for the team. I mean, if for no one else, then for Dodger, right? She was looking at me like she was completely out of it.
Dodger’s a whiz kid. She’s here because she loves computers, and she’s probably at least as good with the tech as Jackie. You might say she loves it a bit too much, and sometimes that makes it hard for her to completely digest the situation we’re in. Not that she’s a ditz or anything. It’s the complete opposite, actually. She’s just really focused on all the technology we come across and getting it working. I guess the science keeps her distracted from having to process all the things we’re up against. Like the Creepers.
The problem with that is, when things get real, it hits her harder than anyone else. It might even hit her more than Mike, and that’s saying something, considering everything he’s gone through. I mean, going on the run to save your life for weeks will mess with anyone. Dodger never had to deal with that, not like Mike, and this stuff still really messes with her. Not th
at seeing Jackie jump down that hole isn’t affecting me too. It’s just, I’m worried that Dodger’s taking it so hard that it could put her at risk.
I mean, we get out of the room, and she goes dead silent. I’m standing there, almost having to beg her to say something. “Come on, Dodger. I need you to talk to me. We’ve got to communicate if we want to get out of here, and don’t forget, we’ve still got Mike to find.”
She nods at me, but she keeps messing with her tablet while she’s trying to map out where we’re going. “Yeah, no. I’m fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah,” she says, but she shakes her head no at the same time.
“Well, that’s just confusing.”
“Sorry, sorry, sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, I’m not asking you to apologize or anything. We’re in this together.”
I know. I’m just . . .” She stops there in the middle of the hall and squeezes at her forehead. “I’m just all up in here right now, and it’s . . . I’m just sorry.”
“Hey. That’s, like, five sorries. We’re good.” I know there’s no way we even get down this hall with her in that condition, but that’s not all that’s bothering me. This is Dodger. If there’s anyone that I can’t stand seeing this way, it’s her. I know we haven’t talked about our relationship that much, practically not at all, but she knows I care. So, I go over to her and just, you know, squeeze her shoulder. It’s not a big deal, but it’s enough to get her to look up at me, and I can see she’s crying. She’s freaking out, and I’m the one that’s got to set her straight, for our safety and because it’s just killing me to see her breaking down. It reminds me of a time when me and Jackie first worked together, and she had to calm me down while I was having a panic attack. She really took over, which saved my life since the Creep goes nutters when you’re anxious for too long. Now it’s my turn to do the same thing for Dodger. So, there I am with her, and I’m thinking to myself that I’ve got to do something to help her cool down. “Dodger, I want to get us someplace safe where we can talk this all out. I know this sucks. I know Jackie decided to pitch herself over that ledge. What we don’t know is what happened to her, and we won’t know for sure until we get moving. There’s going to be a time to digest everything, but we can’t do this now. You know how the Creep works, and we’re surrounded by it.”
“It just looked like such a long fall, Tommy.”
“We’ve got no idea how long it was. We were both looking at the same screen, and the cameras didn’t give us that good of a view. So, I’ll put it this way. If we want any chance of putting this team together, we’ve got to keep moving. I’m not saying Jackie’s alive or not, but I know we’ve at least got to start with getting Mike. I think Jackie would want that.”
“Yeah. I’m so sorry that I keep . . .” She waves at her eyes. “That I keep doing this.”
“For what? For feeling bad? Hey, that makes you human. I wouldn’t want to be with you if you were a Creeper.”
That at least gets a chuckle from her. “What? You don’t want me kissing you with a long tongue like they have?”
“I think that’s a bit too much tongue, if you ask me,” I joke. “Now, ready to move?”
“Maybe. Yeah. Yeah, I am. Thanks, Tommy.”
“Nah. You don’t need to say thanks. I mean, Scavengers stick together. Until Tower’s end.”
“Until Tower’s end,” she says as she snaps me a salute. “I’ve got my head together, sir.”
It’s weird to hear her call me that. I guess she might be technically right, since I’ve basically been acting like Jackie’s second since we got out on our own. That doesn’t mean I’m completely okay with it, but it’s funny how structure can help you keep your head together. So, I salute her right back. “Let’s move out.”
Mike’s Recording 05
Didn’t expect to survive. I’ll be the first one to admit it. When I come to, everything is pitch black, and all I can really tell is I’m covered in the Creep. Strange part though? It’s not attacking. Doesn’t mean I’m not freaking out of my mind, wondering where Jackie is. Makes my anxiety spike through the roof, you know? But, nothing’s happening. Creep’s not supposed to do that. The more scared you get, more anxious you are, the more likely it’s going to take a stab at you. Thing is, I’m buried to my waist, struggling to push my way out of the stuff, but even as much as I’m panicking, nothing’s coming for me. Doesn’t mean everything’s okay. It burns to breathe, and my chest feel like it’s going to split open. That’s how bad it hurts. I’m alive though.
Does kind of feel like I’m floating. There’s no light, and it feels like I’m not even really in my own body. That’s what happens when you’re in a darkness so intense that you can’t even see your hands in front of you. Not that I’m sure I want to. I mean, when I finally crawl out of the Creep, I’m soaked from the waist down, like I’ve just gotten out of the pool or something. What really gets me is the feeling between my fingers and under my fingernails, like I’ve been digging through skin. It’s not exactly a vacation down here. So, the only reason I get any light going is because of my flashlight and tablet, which give me enough light to find a desk to settle on.
From what I can tell, there’s Creep that’s sealed up the door out of here. It’s seeing the door that really makes my chest feel like it’s clutching up, almost like I’m choking. When I think about how I got here . . . all of a sudden, I just don’t want to . . . I don’t want to be awake anymore. It starts vague at first, this memory of Jackie throwing me into the room, but she . . . I just keep thinking she must have gone out there to draw the Creep away. My memories flash back to David Marshall attacking us, and all those Cultists. And again, like always, it was Jackie putting herself out there for me. Not the other way around. It wasn’t Mike saving her. It never is. She might have thrown her life away to save me.
I’m not sure I deserved it.
I immediately start looking for a way out because I refuse to think she’s dead. It’s the only thing I can think of, getting out of there. Problem is, the Creep covering the way out is about a foot thick, and any trying to get through with my knife might just piss it off. There’s a bigger problem though. While I’m trying to get my footing, I realize there’s a pain shooting through my side, and it’s the first time I see I’ve got dry blood covering my uniform. I’m clutching my hips when I realize I don’t even have the strength to keep standing. Next thing I know, I’m falling back to the ground and sucking wind so hard you’d think there was a storm passing through. Not sure I’d even have the strength to try and force myself out of the door if I wanted to.
It’s like I’m slowly becoming aware of my own body and everything it’s trying to tell me. The second I start getting the pain shooting through my side, I realize my throat is so dry that it feels like death. For the first time, I start wondering exactly how long I’ve been knocked out. I could swear it’s just been minutes, but the level of thirst I’m feeling is unnatural. Luckily, I’ve got a water bottle stashed in my satchel. I’m like a dying man, because I must drink half my supply in seconds. I’m almost tempted to slurp it all down when I realize I should save some, at least until I have the strength to try and escape. I’ll have to get out, at some point. Thing is, the second I’ve taken a drink, it’s like my body starts fading again. Maybe I’m just not ready to try breaking out, because I end up slumping back to the ground and closing my eyes. I keep telling myself to stay awake, to do it for Jackie and go after her. I . . . I just can’t.
I’m not strong enough.
Jackie’s New Recording: Three
I need to talk about what happened today.
I’m pretty sure I’ve said enough times that I’m not as worried about the Creep and hallucinations anymore. The thing is, I haven’t been seeing any Demons, so you know, I guess I just thought I was doing okay. I hadn’t seen any visions of Sally recently either, so that’s always a plus. It can’t have been completely terrible for me to assume that I�
�d managed to get some kind of control going. You know, Commander Abbott and Captain Sunny both looked like they could be waist deep in Creep and still not hallucinate. Or at least, they made it look like they could stay in control.
I’m . . . I’m definitely avoiding the subject. Today was a food hunting day. I kept making my maps as I went, but I had to focus on getting something to eat. So, anyway, there I am, walking the halls. You know the drill: stay in the shadows, avoid Creepers. That’s like, scavenging 101, am I right? So, it was just another normal day of Jackie trying to stay alive. Thing is, I’m walking. Again, I feel like my maps are lying, like the halls aren’t going the direction they’re supposed to, but I stick with it. I keep telling myself that I’ll just have to figure out a way back.
Anyway, there I am, standing in a hall that’s plastered over with Creep, just like every other place this far down. It’s so bad that, every time I take a step, I’m sinking almost past my ankles in tissue. It’s pretty much disgusting, but if anyone can get remotely used to this type of thing, then I’m used to it by now. Anyway, I’m standing there in the dark, and all I can hear is my heart pumping and my stomach screaming for some food. At least, that’s all I can hear at first. As I’m walking though, just trying to find my way through whatever stretch of hall I’m in, my ears start picking up on something. At first, it sounds like this deep bass, like it’s something so intense that I can feel it in my feet.